- Gavin Burcar scored the first hat trick of the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in a 6-4 U.S. win over Czechia
- Liam Pue racked up two goals and an assist in one period as Canada beat Switzerland 7-3
- Read below for the full Day 1 rundown from Rogers Place in Edmonton
Day 1 of the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup belonged to two teenagers.
Gavin Burcar scored the tournament’s first hat trick in a 6-4 U.S. win over Czechia, and Liam Pue piled up three points in a single period as Canada rolled past Switzerland 7-3. Both games went Monday at Rogers Place in Edmonton.
Burcar, a Spokane Chiefs forward, was named U.S. player of the game. Joey Cullen got the Americans going by deflecting a Jake Prunty shot past Jaroslav Martinek at 9:57 of the first, and Burcar doubled the lead at 13:29 with a wrister from the bottom of the left circle.
His second came shorthanded 17 seconds into the middle period, and he capped the hat trick on a power-play one-timer with five minutes left, per USA Hockey.
Kaeden Tate turned aside 24 shots behind him. Czechia outshot the Americans 28-23 and got a pair from defenseman Lukas Kachlir, but the U.S. penalty kill went 5-for-6.
Canada took care of the nightcap.
Pue was the reason. The 2028 draft-eligible winger scored twice and set up another as the hosts flipped a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead before the first intermission was over.
Watch Pue’s second of the period:
Brock England also scored twice for Canada, one of those on the penalty kill. Camryn Warren, Ryerson Edgar and Ben Veitch handled the rest.
Landon DuPont stayed off the scoresheet and still stood out. Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis, who filed scouting reports on both games, liked how little the projected 2027 first overall pick gave away:
“Just about every decision he made seemed controlled. He never seemed to be baited under pressure. And he had the skill and speed to get himself out of trouble when needed,” Ellis wrote.
Team USA is back on the ice Tuesday against Finland at 9 p.m. ET. The tournament runs through Aug. 8 in Edmonton.
